by Krista Lakes
He'd rented out an office space in a building next door to his hotel, but it didn't feel like an office. It had a desk and chairs, but no people. It was just Craig and Ethan. He got more done here than in his hotel room, but not by much.
Ethan missed the hum of his old office. He missed having coffee with people and not having to drive all over town to attend meetings. Plus, he missed his desk at home. He missed his nice pens and the way he had everything set up. He couldn't find anything in his current space.
He couldn't wait for the R&D office to finally be set up. He was enjoying his trip to Colorado, especially the parts with Laura, but he missed his workspace. He wished there was a way he could have both, but for now, he was going to enjoy his time with Laura.
“Can I ask your advice?” Ethan spun in his chair to face the other man. This chair turned more than his office chair at home and had a tendency to tip over if he leaned in it.
“Anytime.” Craig smiled and leaned against the door frame. “I can't guarantee it will be any good, but I'm happy to give it.”
“What do you think about Laura?” Ethan knew it was a loaded question, but he wanted to hear an outsider's opinion.
“Laura?” Craig repeated as if that wasn't the question he was expecting. He shrugged after thinking for a moment. “She seems nice. A little high maintenance, but nice.”
“What do you mean, 'high maintenance?'”
“The kids,” Craig explained. He pushed himself off the door frame and sauntered across the office to sit in one of the chairs. “The kids limit what she can do.”
“So that makes her high maintenance?” Ethan asked. “I thought high maintenance girls liked expensive things and lots of money.”
Craig laughed. “I'm sure most of them do. She's a different kind of maintenance,” he explained. “You can't jet off on a surprise trip to Vegas because someone has to watch her kids. Your romantic evenings have to be scheduled. She can't go to things because she's got other people she has to work around. Dating a single mom is harder than dating a regular girl.”
“You sound like you've done it before,” Ethan observed.
Craig shrugged. “I dated this girl who had a four-year-old daughter. The kid was great, the girl was great, but I was always second. The kid came first for everything. It didn't work out for other reasons, but kids definitely complicate things. You aren't committing to just her. You're committing to her and her kids.”
Ethan nodded. He had to agree with that. Dating with kids around was not what he was expecting. Just watching the movie at her house was different. If he were with a childless girl, he would have made out with her by scene two and had their clothes off by scene four. He'd watched the whole movie with barely a kiss.
He liked Dallas and Ivy a lot, but they did make things more complicated. In any other relationship, he would have jetted off to Fiji by now for several overnight trips, but they hadn't had a single one.
Yet, he loved getting to be domestic. He couldn't remember the last time he'd actually had pizza and a movie, and he'd thoroughly enjoyed the experience. It felt more like a family, which was what he secretly craved. It was different than he was used to. Harder, but it seemed like it might be better.
“But other than the kid thing?” Ethan asked, returning to Craig.
“Other than her having a ton of responsibility that comes before you?” Craig asked. Something about the way he said it ruffled Ethan's feathers. He didn't like the tone.
“Yeah. Other than that,” Ethan said, crossing his arms.
“She makes you happy. If someone makes you happy, you don't let go of that.” Craig put his hands on either side of the chair and looked directly at his employer. “You keep them close to you. You fight for them. Even if it is harder. Even if it doesn't completely make sense.”
Ethan's irritation faded, and he sat back in his chair. It was harder, but Laura was worth it. He knew that.
“Why do you want to know what I think?” Craig asked. “I'm just your security.”
“You're more than just security,” Ethan said. The man was with him constantly and probably knew more of Ethan's secrets than Ethan did. He saw a hint of a smile cross Craig’s face that disappeared in just a moment.
Ethan sighed. “She's only seen the ocean once. And it was at a crappy city hotel. I want to make her happy.”
“Happy is good,” Craig agreed. “You sound like you're having trouble with a decision.”
“I got us tickets to the Caribbean. To give her the best experience of the ocean possible,” Ethan told him. He sighed again. “I”m just thinking it might be too fast.”
Craig thought about it for a moment, then shook his head. “No. It's not too fast. You two have history, right?”
Ethan nodded. “Yes.”
“And you know her through Carter, so you at least know she's not psycho or just after your money,” Craig continued. “I think you're good. It's definitely faster than most couples, but then you aren't most people. Neither of you are.”
“Thank you, Craig,” Ethan said.
“What about the kids?” Craig asked. “She won't want to leave without them.”
“They're coming out two days after us,” Ethan replied. “I got them a special kid-friendly flight plan. I have a professional princess and football player that will entertain them onboard. Plus, all the kid-friendly food and drinks I could find.”
Craig whistled. “Damn. I want to go on that flight. I'll date you for that kind of treatment.”
Ethan laughed. “I want them to have a good time.”
“I like it,” Craig told him with a nod. “You'll get your time with Laura, and you'll make her and the kids happy. If the kids are happy, she's happy.”
“That's the truth,” Ethan agreed. “She never stops thinking about them.”
“I think you have a recipe for success. So what is making you rethink this?” Craig asked. “I mean, I'll be there, so you've got the best security possible. What's the problem?”
Ethan chuckled. He sighed before answering. “She seems excited about it, but a little apprehensive too. Her parents died in a plane accident last year. She's still struggling with it. She's unsure of getting on a plane. If she's not sure, I don't know how the kids will handle the flight.”
Craig considered Ethan's words. “I am not a psychologist. I don't even play one on TV,” he told Ethan, getting another small chuckle. “She may balk. The kids may refuse, and she won't go without them. Planes are probably still the scariest thing in the world to her right now. Don't get your hopes up to high.”
“So what do I do?” Ethan asked. “Not fly? I'm not driving.”
“Come up with a backup plan,” Craig advised. “One that doesn't involve flying. Be creative. Chicks love creativity.”
“Creative, huh?” Ethan thought for a moment and then smiled as an idea came to him. It was crazy, but he had a feeling he could pull it off if Laura couldn't get on a plane. “Craig, you are a smart man.”
“I'm working for you, aren't' I?” Craig replied.
“What would I do without you?” Ethan asked, getting up from his desk. Now, Craig couldn’t hide his smile. He beamed at Ethan from the chair. He rose as well once Ethan was standing.
“Can I help with anything else, sir?” Craig asked.
“Not right now, thank you,” Ethan replied, walking around his desk and toward his jacket where he had his phone. “I need to make some phone calls.”
“Of course, sir,” Craig replied. He paused at the door. “I'm glad I could help, Ethan.”
Ethan looked up from his jacket and smiled with a nod. Craig carefully closed the door behind him, and Ethan began his phone calls with a smile on his face.
Chapter 24
Laura
Laura looked down at the two faces of her younger siblings and felt her heart break. They were staring back up at her with tears streaming down their little cheeks. Their eyes were puffy from crying. Each of their sobs caused Laura's heart to break a l
ittle more.
Dallas was sitting on the ground, with his arms wrapped around her left leg. He was squeezing her so tightly that she was pretty sure her foot would go numb soon. Ivy was doing the same thing but on the right. She couldn't move. It was like both of her feet had been cemented into the floor.
“Guys, please,” Laura pleaded with them. “Just hear Ethan out. He's trying to give us a gift.”
Laura and Ethan had gotten back to the house a few minutes before. The kids had been so excited to see them initially. They were prancing and dancing around the house with giant smiles on both of their faces. Things changed immediately, though, as soon as Ethan presented them with their surprise trip to the Caribbean.
At first, the kids were just shocked and almost seemed excited about it. Of course, that was because they didn't know exactly where the Caribbean was. As soon as Dallas asked if it was far away, and Ethan replied with a “yes, it's far from here. We'll ride a plane there,” all hell broke loose. Both Dallas and Ivy just lost it, and their smiles turned to sobs of fear in a matter of seconds.
“It's okay, you guys.” Laura knelt down and wrapped her arms around her siblings, pulling them close. Their tears soaked her shoulders as soon as their little faces got close. “It's totally safe. As Ethan said, it's not a regular airplane. It's a private jet. It's different.”
“It's not safe!” Ivy shouted, through a wall of tears.
“We don't want you to go,” Dallas said, squeezing her even more tightly.
“You get to come too, though,” Laura said. “Don't you want to see the ocean? Ethan said we can see dolphins and whales and that the water there is so warm it's like taking a bath. Doesn't that sound incredible?”
“NO!” little Dallas shouted. “Planes crash! Mommy and Daddy got on a plane and didn't come back!”
“Yeah, we're not going,” Ivy shouted. “Dallas and I are staying here, and so are you! Ethan can't take you away from us.”
Ethan was standing just a few feet away, watching the interaction. Laura felt horrible for him because he had been so excited to present the surprise to the kids. This wasn't the reaction he had hoped for.
“Dallas, Ivy, I'm not taking her away from you,” Ethan said, kneeling down. “I just want to give you guys a fun experience.”
Neither of the kids responded to him. They just gripped Laura even more tightly than before. She couldn't be mad at them for their reaction. She'd felt pretty similar earlier that morning when she thought about boarding a plane. Her heart hurt as the kids continued to cry because she knew exactly what they were going through.
In fact, their fears were probably even more intense than her own. They were young and didn't have the capacity to think things through in the same manner as she did. They had never been on a plane before. Their only experience with the giant metal birds that fly in the sky was that they crashed.
“You can't leave us, Laura,” Ivy said, hesitantly releasing her grip from around Laura's shoulders. “You can't go. What if something happens? We wouldn't have anybody.”
Ivy's words seemed to strike a chord in Laura's heart. She winced. The idea of those two kids being without her, being left alone in the world, was her greatest fear. Still, though, she had to see past that. She couldn't allow them to live in a world full of fear and pain. There was more to life than that. There were so many things to see. She knew that she wouldn't be doing either of them any favors by sheltering them forever.
“Guys, what if we all went at the same time?” Laura said calmly. “That way we'd be together.”
“No, no, no!” Ivy said, stomping her feet in frustration. “That's even worse! What if the plane crashes then? We'll all be dead!”
“Ivy, please,” Laura said, stroking her back. “Please, just hear me out right now. Do you think I'd ever suggest anything that might hurt you or your brother? I love you guys more than anything in this entire world. There's nothing I wouldn't do to keep you safe. You've got to understand that planes aren't dangerous.”
Dallas pulled away and looked at Laura like she'd lost her mind. “Then where are Mom and Dad?”
Ivy and Dallas both stared at her, waiting for an answer. Their eyes were overflowing with tears, and they looked legitimately scared. She hadn't seen this level of fear in them before, and it scared her. Their lower lips trembled, while they attempted to hold back another wave of sobs.
“Please, please don't do this, Laura,” Ivy said. “We need you.”
The sincerity in Ivy's voice caused the shattered pieces of her heart to turn into dust. She couldn't do it.
Right then, Ethan approached them. He knelt down and wrapped his arms around all three of them.
“It's okay, guys,” he said. “No planes.”
Laura lifted her gaze and looked at Ethan. Ivy did the same and wiped the tears from her cheek with the back of her hand. Dallas and Ivy were still crying and clinging onto Laura as though she was about to vanish in a puff of smoke.
“No planes?” Ivy said, sniffling.
Even Dallas released Laura a little bit and looked over at Ethan. For the first time that morning, Laura could feel a sense of relief in the two kids.
“It hurts me to see you guys like this,” Ethan said. “I don't want any of you to have to do something that scares you this much.”
Laura frowned. The last thing she wanted to do was to cancel the trip and let those plane tickets go to waste. She couldn't even imagine how much money it took to buy four tickets on a private jet.
“Ethan, what about the tickets?” she asked.
He shrugged. “Don't worry about the tickets. When you own a jet, they're refundable. Besides, I have a pretty good backup plan.”
Laura cocked her head to the side. “You do?” She wondered what in the world someone planned instead of a trip to the Caribbean.
“It's actually pretty good,” he said with a shrug. Ethan put his hand on Laura's shoulder and gave it a reassuring squeeze. “The whole point of the trip was to make you guys happy, and if it's not doing that, then I don't want to go.”
“Thank you, Ethan,” Laura whispered. A sense of relief washed over her. It wasn't just the kids that were anxious.
“Besides, we can always go another time,” he promised. He looked down at the children still clinging to Laura. “It's pretty clear, though, that the time is not now.”
She was disappointed that it wasn't going to work out. However, there was still a not-so-small part of her that felt relief because she wasn't going to have to face her fears quite yet.
“Ethan, thank you so much for understanding,” she said. “You're the best.”
He smiled and shrugged like it was nothing. To Laura, it was anything but. He cared. This meant almost more than him making the offer for the trip.
“I've got to make a quick call,” Ethan said, as he stood up and pulled his cell phone from the front pocket of his slacks. “But I've got a question for you kids first. What do you think about heading to the movie theater in a bit and going to see that new superhero movie we were talking about?”
The kids sniffled, but slowly pulled their faces away from Laura's neck. They didn't release their kung-fu grip from her, though. They weren't quite ready for that.
“Superhero movie?” Dallas asked, in the cutest voice Laura had ever heard in her life.
“Yeah, remember the one about the guy in the cape?” Ethan asked. “I'm going to take all of us to see that tonight. Sound good?”
Dallas looked over to Ivy, and it was as though they had a quick conversation with just their eyes. Finally, they both nodded.
“Yeah, let's go see the superhero movie,” Dallas said, then sniffled again.
“Alright,” Ethan said. “Sounds like a deal. Oh, one more thing, I need all three of you to be ready for the beach tomorrow morning.”
Laura frowned. “Ethan, we just talked about this.”
“I didn't say anything about a plane, did I?” he said, with a playful grin. “All I said is be ready for
the beach. I'll be here at ten in the morning to pick you three up. Have everything ready. Everyone needs swimsuits, sunscreen, and beach towels.”
Laura was beyond confused and so were the kids but based on Ethan's smile. He once again had something fun planned up his sleeve. Before anybody could say a word, Ethan turned and began to walk toward the front of the house.
“I've got to make this call,” he said. “I need to coordinate some things for tomorrow's plans. Go ahead and start getting ready for the movie. I'll be right back.”
He left Laura and kids sitting there on the floor, all three of them with a confused expression on their faces.
“Laura, what's he talking about?” Ivy asked. “I thought nobody was going on the trip. You said we didn't have to fly on a plane.”
“We don't, honey,” Laura said. “Ethan has another surprise for us and apparently, this one doesn't involve any planes at all. It sounds to me like it's going to be a lot of fun. What do you guys think?”
Dallas wore a thoughtful expression, but at least the tears were gone. Ivy wiped at her face, but her eyes were already drying.
“I guess it could be fun,” Ivy said. She smiled. “As long as there are no planes, I'm good.”
Dallas nodded in agreement. Despite her brave words earlier, Laura couldn't agree more.
Chapter 25
Laura
The next morning, Laura and the kids were all gathered in the kitchen. They'd already eaten their breakfast and were dressed in their swimsuits. Laura had on her favorite two-piece suit, which she'd only ever worn one other time. It was white, with giant black strips going across it. The bottom part was like a little skirt, which fell just below her butt. Over that, she had on sweatpants, because it happened to be the middle of May and still pretty cold outside in the mornings. Colorado winters never ended when they were supposed to and this year was no exception. One day it was warm and sunny, then the next day there would be a blizzard.